Shiotsu Autotrade - President’s Blog

Sega Toys, a Japanese firm has created a 15 inch tall  girlfriend robot that will go on sale in September for around $170 (18,000 yen), and will target a market of lonely adult men in Japan.  

The robot girlfriend may not be tall and blonde, but she doesn’t complain about dirty socks ! She is big-busted, petite, very friendly, and she runs on batteries. She can sing, dance and - should the occasion require it - hand out business cards. She could prove to be a good companion for lonely-hearted men everywhere; she can even kiss on command. The friendly robot is named “Ema”  standing for Eternal Maiden Actualization.

Sega Toys says they want to break the stereotyoe image of robots where the robots are associated with strong, tough and battle-ready, and want to provide a robot which is friendly and interactive.

There will be a big demand for this friendly robot when it will be released.  If any of you would like to own this robot, I can arrange to get one for you.

Technorati Tags: Japanese, girlfriend, robot, Japan

Kinokawa is a small town in Wakayama prefecture of western Japan. There is nothing special about this town, but a cat named Tama has made the town very famous in Japan.  

Tama, a 9 year old calico cat is appointed as stationmaster of Kishi Station in Kinokawa. She has been officially working for last two years. Two other cats were named deputy stationmasters at the same Kishi Station. Stationmaster Tama, wearing a formal railway uniform cap, and two other cats often welcome passengers at the unmanned Kishi Station. The railway company feeds her in lieu of salary.

In Japan, you will often see small sculptures of lucky cat called Maneki Neko. These cats are supposed to bring luck.  Tama is also bringing luck to Kinokawa town. The station went unmanned in April 2006 as the railway line was losing money. But since Tama was appointed as the stationmaster, number of passengers using the line increased dramatically. The Wakayama railway company  expressed its appreciation of the cat’s role in boosting business by promoting her to super stationmaster and also by giving her a spacious stationmaster’s office equipped with a ventilation fan and a toilet.

The operator of the grocery shop at the station has been keeping the three cats. Tama became a national star when she appeared in books and documentaries.  She is also set to appear in a French documentary film about wonder cats around the world.

Technorati Tags: Kinokawa, Japan, Tama, cat, Station, stationmasters, Maneki Neko

Golden week is over now and people are getting back to busy work life once again in Japan. To those who may not know what is ‘Golden Week’, it is a group of national holidays in Japan, beginning with April 29 and ending with May 6. It is not only one of the longest holidays in Japan, but also one of the most popular holidays. Many businesses close for about a week to 10 days depending on the calender. So, if you are going to Japan on business, you should never go during the Golden Week. However, if you are looking for a lovely time of the year and get a first hand experience of Japanese culture, by all means, you should visit during this period.

Many Japanese take this holiday as an opportunity to travel overseas as well as inside Japan. So, many sightseeing and amusement places are very crowded at this time. Also, airports and train stations in Japan are overflowing with people. It is extremely hard to get reservations for accommodations and transportation around this time.

Apparently the origin of Golden Week comes from the movie industry. They thought it would be a “golden opportunity” for people to have the time to go to the movies. Major holidays in the Golden week are birthday of the former emperor Shouwa, Constitutional memorial day, and Children’s day.

Technorati Tags: Golden week, Japan, Japanese, culture, holiday

Japanese Mini-Trucks also known as Kei-trucks are normally used as work trucks in Japan. But these days some Drift enthusiasts are modifying these truks for Drifting. So do not be surprised if you see a Japanese Minitruck competing with Nissan Skyline sports car in a Drift Event.

Well, there is always some excitement for those who want to try something different. And if you watch this video, you will definitely agree that it is indeed fun to watch these trucks doing challenging course at top speed in drifting events.

Though we do not deal with modified mini-trucks for Drifting, we can definitely supply new or used mini-trucks for other purposes.

Technorati Tags: Japanese, Mini-Trucks, Kei-trucks, Japan, Drift, Drifting, Nissan, Skyline

In my earlier post about Nissan’s Diversity Drive for its female workforce, I had mentioned about the limited role women in Japanese Car Industry and how Nissan is planning to change its corporate culture to include more women.

I recently came across the book Why Women Mean Business which gave a similar message looking at the global corporate culture. This book suggests that gender equality in the labour force could increase GDP by as much as 9 per cent in the US, 13 per cent in Europe and 16 per cent in Japan.

I agree with this view. Women have become probably the greatest neglected resource in business, both in their productive potential as employees and their market potential as buyers.

Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of  Nissan,  recently mentioned that women directly made or influenced two-thirds of car purchases in Japan. So women definitely play a big role as buyer in Japan. As per Nissan’s surveys, 80 per cent of women buyers and half of men would prefer to see women sales executives in car showrooms. Yet only one out of ten salespeople in the Japanese car industry are women.

Companies are learning that they need to change how they market to women. And to start with, I have included my wife and one more female staff member to give more attention to our women buyers.

Technorati Tags: women, Japanese, Car, Nissan, Japan

Last weekend it snowed in Osaka for the first time in 11 years! And it actually snowed a lot for Osaka. Sure it is nothing compared to the snow we get in Hokkaido or Japan Alps area, but for the local residents, it was a beautiful and refreshing experience.

But by the next morning, all the snow had melted away, and the roads were icy and slippery. Of course, it is dangerous to drive or even walk in such slippery roads. I saw many people walking with special shoes or even ski boots. Neverthless, I enjoyed walking in the snow with my family.

When I went to India the week before, it was also surprisingly cold there. These days we hear a lot about global warming. What scientists have to say about this cold wave seen virtually all over the world ? 

Technorati Tags: Osaka, Hokkaido, Japan, snow, ski, India, global warming

The Honda Puyo concept car was presented at this years Tokyo motor show. Puyo is a japanese Onomatopoeia that is a meant to convey a warm,friendly impression,the sensation of touching the vehicle`s softbody.Sounds kinky but puyo`s ‘gel’ body is actually soft .Honda claims the soft body increases safety.During the dark puyo`s body can glow,emitting light.Therefore in the night it is very easy to notice when in the streets.
Puyo is a green vehicle,powered by a fuel cell.Its design is that of a cornerless box.The small tyres are at the extreme corners of the vehicle.It has been designed in away that it can turn in 360 degrees.The puyo has got what is called the scissor doors!
The interesting part of the puyo is that instead of the steering wheel its got a joystick.Describing the puyo,most probably the suitable words are Quirky and impractical,this is what is expected of concept cars.The inside is designed to have a silky feel,providing a refreshing and people friendly space.

Technorati Tags: Honda, Puyo, concept, Onomatopoeia, green vehicle, joystick

Last week,one of our customers from england visted our company in osaka.He was curious to know about the butler cafes in Japan.I told him that though the butler cafes and bars are the latest social hot spots, they are meant for young females only,but i offered to accompany him to a maid cafe which is a place for young and old men to relax and be pampered with service from cute Japanese girls dressed as French maids.

The maid cafes are springing up everywhere in Japan and the main target is the lonely,young Japanese males who are technological nerds and do not have any social skills to deal with women.
The girls in the maid cafes are very friendly with such customer like a prince and are literally at their service.

The butler bars,on the other hand is a place for women to unwind- and where the only men around are in uniform and at their service.They also use old fashioned polite language like ‘good day,princess’ or ‘mademoiselle,your coach awaits`.The japanese male staff at these cafes wear formal outfits of english manservant down to tails and gloves.There is alot of pressure on japanese young working women in big cities like Tokyo and Osaka.They also are under pressure to conform and marry-which often means surrendreing much of their freedom.Thus the butler cafe offers such women a place to unwind from the pressures of the outside world and get a chance to act out their fantasies-say to be a princess with a footman for tea time.

Technorati Tags: butler cafes, maid cafes, Japan, Japanese